Eddie D’Hondt has been arrested on misdemeanor charges of ‘battery of an unborn child’ in addition to ‘assault of a woman’
Eddie D’Hondt is the spotter for Chase Elliott’s No. 9 team at Hendrick Motorsports at the NASCAR Cup Series level. The team won the championship in 2020 and claimed a win last weekend at Circuit of the Americas.
On May 12, 62-year-old Eddie D’Hondt was arrested per the Hickory, N.C. Police Department’s website.
D’Hondt has served as Elliott’s spotter for two races since the arrest. The first was on May 16 at Dover International Speedway. The most recent was Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas.
Now, two court cases are pending following the arrest. The first on June 7 (battery of an unborn child) and the other will follow on June 30 (assault of a woman).
D’Hondt has deleted his twitter account.
It’s important to point out that this is not a conviction of anything. D’Hondt has only been arrested with court dates set.
North Carolina law
§ 14-23.6: Battery on an unborn child
“(a) A person is guilty of the separate offense of battery on an unborn child if the person commits a battery on a pregnant woman. This offense is a lesser-included offense of G.S. 14-23.5.”
“(b) Penalty. – Any person who commits an offense under this section is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor. (2011-60, s. 2.)”
§ 14-33: Assault on a female:
“(c): Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any person who commits any assault, assault and battery, or affray is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray, he or she:”
“(2): Assaults a female, he being a male person at least 18 years of age”
Assault on a female by a male is a class A1 Misdemeanor in North Carolina. It carries a possible maximum period in jail of 150 days.
Hendrick Motorsports suspends Eddie D’Hondt
Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement, “We became aware of the situation this morning and have immediately and indefinitely suspended Mr. D’Hondt’s role with our company. We are taking this matter very seriously and will continue to seek additional information about the alleged incident.”
An additional NASCAR suspension or penalty could follow. 12.8.1.d states that a member “could be fined and/or indefinitely suspended” note of “being charged with or convicted of a significant criminal violation.”
Hendrick Motorsports already lost a spotter for their No. 5 team before the 2021 season began. Chris Monez was selected as Kyle Larson’s spotter but he was let go before the first race.
Related: Kyle Larson is looking for a new NASCAR spotter as social media posts surface
Update
On Wednesday afternoon, NASCAR officially announced the suspension of Eddie D’Hondt.
Infraction: “12.8.1.e Member Conduct Guidelines; 2.11 Required Notice”
Penalty: “Edward J. D’Hondt, Sr. has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR.”
Links
Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | NASCAR
